"Zoro, I'll just call you by your na. You don't mind, right?"
Namikaze Minato scratched the back of his head, his tone carrying its usual gentle warmth as he spoke to Uchiha Zoro.
"Minato-sensei, I'll be in your care from now on."
Zoro gave a small nod in response, his posture calm and composed.
Seeing this, Minato smiled faintly. Compared to Hatake Kakashi, who had been distant and difficult to approach from their very first eting, Zoro's attitude was far more cooperative. That alone made Minato quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
"Mm. When we spar later, try to hold back a bit. Don't go all out."
He had already heard reports about Zoro's swordsmanship. It was said that every ti the boy drew his blade, soone ended up bleeding. The examiner from his graduation test had lost so much blood that he was still confined to bed.
"Understood, Minato-sensei."
Their straightforward exchange left Nohara Rin blinking in mild confusion.
"Obito… is Zoro-kun really that strong?"
She and Uchiha Obito trailed behind Zoro as they made their way to an open patch of sandy ground.
Rin wasn't from the Uchiha clan, nor had she seen Zoro's graduation assessnt. Naturally, she had no clear idea of his strength—she didn't even know his exact age. At a glance, she simply assud he was around the sa age as them.
"Strong? Please. Rin, just watch—I'll take him down myself."
Obito puffed up imdiately, unwilling to lose face in front of the girl he liked. Even if he knew deep down he might get beaten, his pride refused to back down first.
"Obito, just be careful, okay? Don't push yourself."
Rin's tone was soft but concerned. As a dical-nin, she wasn't suited for direct combat, which ant the upcoming match would essentially be Obito facing Zoro alone.
"Hmph. I know that."
Obito snorted, trying to sound confident as he stepped forward to face Zoro.
"Actual combat is the fastest way to understand your teammates. You two can begin."
Minato moved to the side with Rin, giving them space.
Zoro calmly drew the wooden sword he used for training. Against Obito at this stage, that was more than enough.
"A wooden sword?"
Obito's brows knit together slightly, irritation flashing across his face. It felt like he was being underestimated.
What kind of damage could a wooden sword even do?
Both of them raised one hand and ford the Seal of Confrontation.
"Begin."
Zoro spoke flatly, ignoring the twitch at the corner of Obito's mouth.
The mont his voice fell, Obito leapt backward. While still airborne, his hands moved rapidly through a sequence of seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Chakra surged up his throat, and in the next instant, a massive fireball burst forth from his mouth, roaring across the battlefield.
The flas expanded violently, swallowing the space in front of Zoro and leaving almost no room to evade.
But Zoro didn't retreat.
He simply swung.
The motion was clean, almost effortless—so fast it blurred into an afterimage. An invisible cutting force shot forward, slicing straight through the center of the incoming fireball.
"Boom!!"
The flas split apart and detonated on either side of him, scorching the sand black and sending waves of heat rolling outward.
"Whoosh—!"
A sharp sound cut through the air.
Zoro's eyes narrowed slightly.
Within the dispersing flas, several dark shapes flashed forward—shuriken, concealed within the Fire Release and launched directly at him.
Zoro stood tall, unmoving, like a pine rooted firmly in the ground. From the outside, it looked as though he hadn't noticed them at all.
"Watch out!"
Rin's voice rang out anxiously from the side. From her perspective, the hidden attack had gone completely unnoticed.
Minato reacted at the sa ti.
The way Obito had hidden his shuriken within the fire was clever—subtle enough that most would miss it entirely. Now that they were only a few ters from Zoro, Minato flicked his wrist and sent a Flying Thunder God kunai flying toward them, intending to intercept.
The kunai shot forward faster than the shuriken themselves.
Just as it was about to strike—
Zoro's gaze sharpened.
In his vision, everything seed to slow. The spinning shuriken, the shifting flas, even the air itself felt stretched thin. The pressure of imminent danger pushed his senses to their limit, adrenaline surging through his body.
Not yet.
He could cut them—he was certain of it. But he wanted to push it further, to test the exact limit of his draw speed.
Just as he prepared to let them co a little closer—
A flash of yellow appeared in front of him.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!!"
Three crisp tallic sounds rang out as the shuriken were knocked aside midair.
"Zoro-kun, are you hurt?"
Rin hurried over, her expression full of concern. When she saw that he was unhard, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"I'm fine… Minato-sensei?"
Zoro turned his gaze toward Minato, noticing the change in his expression.
For the first ti, Minato's usual gentleness was gone, replaced by sothing more serious.
"Why didn't you move just now?"
Zoro answered without hesitation.
"I was testing the limits of my draw speed."
Minato's brows furrowed slightly. His voice, though still calm, carried a firm edge.
"You're not allowed to take risks like that again. One mistake, and the consequences won't be sothing you can fix."
"All right, Minato-sensei. I understand."
Zoro gave a small, helpless smile.
With Minato present, pushing himself to the edge of life and death would be difficult.
But that had been his goal all along—to use real danger to stimulate the awakening of his Sharingan.
"Huh? What's going on? Are we still fighting or not?"
Obito looked over, confused by the sudden interruption. From his perspective, all he had done was throw a few shuriken, yet sohow it had drawn both of their attention.
…Could it be that his technique had been that impressive?
The thought made the corners of his mouth start to rise.
"Minato-sensei, should we continue?"
Zoro glanced at Minato. With him interfering, the kind of pressure Zoro wanted simply couldn't be achieved. And against Obito as he was now, even holding back, victory would be effortless.
"Obito?"
Minato turned his gaze toward Obito, leaving the decision to him.
"Of course we continue! We haven't decided a winner yet!"
Obito's face flushed slightly with excitent. In front of Rin, there was no way he would admit defeat—even if he knew the gap between them.
"All right. Then we'll continue."
Zoro sighed softly, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he glanced at Rin.
He had expected this. Obito wasn't the type to give up easily.
"Good!"
Obito imdiately began forming hand seals again, faster this ti, determined to regain montum.
But just as he was about to complete the final seal—
A chill pressed against his throat.
His pupils shrank.
Cold sweat broke out across his face as his hands froze mid-motion, the final seal left incomplete.
The words Fire Release stuck in his throat, unable to co out.
Too fast.
He hadn't even seen Zoro move.
"Obito, it's over."
Minato's voice sounded from the side. His gaze rested on the wooden sword now placed lightly against Obito's neck—precise, controlled, and stopping just short of harm. A hint of approval flickered in his eyes.
"O-okay… Minato-sensei. I… lost."
Obito's mouth twitched. This ti, he chose not to argue.
This guy…
He was a monster.
A monster even more annoying than Hatake Kakashi.
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